"Are—are you okay?!" The car door swung open as the driver hurriedly stepped out.
Lan Xiaoke slowly got to her feet, "Ah, it's nothing..."
"Pfft." Blood seeped from the corner of her lips.
"You're literally spitting blood?!"
At that moment, Ye Chuan and Bai Qianshuang caught up. Ye Chuan first glanced at Lan Xiaoke's condition—after all, she was a cultivator now, so getting hit by a car going barely 30 or 40 mph shouldn’t be a big deal.
A hundred-ton truck would be another story.
"Don’t panic, just settle this privately. You don’t want us clinging to you, do you?" Seeing how pale the driver had turned, Ye Chuan casually pulled out his phone and showed the man a QR code.
The practiced motion gave the driver the illusion that this was some kind of staged scam.
"O-okay then."
Seeing Lan Xiaoke’s state, the driver didn’t even bother with insurance. He quickly scanned 10,000 yuan to Ye Chuan and sped off.
"Now we’ve got money for food and clothes." Ye Chuan tossed a healing spell at Lan Xiaoke.
"Eh? I’m fine." Lan Xiaoke felt the pain vanish instantly. She looked at Ye Chuan curiously, "Can I learn this healing spell?"
"Not for now."
Since it was magic he’d randomly acquired, Ye Chuan had no idea how to teach it to others.
It wasn’t like he could just say he could use it effortlessly with a wave of his hand, no prerequisites needed.
"Then can I have the medical compensation?"
"That’s even more of a no."
Lan Xiaoke slumped to the ground in defeat, pouting. "Got hit and still no money..."
"Fine, half of it." Ye Chuan transferred 5,000 yuan to her. Truthfully, he wasn’t lacking in real-world money anymore, especially after establishing the pharmaceutical company—cash would soon be flowing in steadily.
But seeing Lan Xiaoke’s money-grubbing expression, he couldn’t resist teasing her.
"Yay!"
Lan Xiaoke immediately brightened up, her eyes sparkling so much that Ye Chuan couldn’t help but poke her forehead.
Little miser.
No idea who she picked that up from.
......
Ye Chuan took Lan Xiaoke and Bai Qianshuang to a nearby shopping plaza. There was no trace left of the earlier monster attacks, and the bustling crowds made everything seem peaceful.
"Ice cream!" Lan Xiaoke spotted the dessert shop at once, grabbing Ye Chuan’s arm and dragging him forward.
"Welcome!" The shopkeeper greeted them as they entered. "You can scan the QR code on the table to order."
Ye Chuan led Bai Qianshuang and Lan Xiaoke to a booth.
"Beep." Lan Xiaoke eagerly pulled out her phone to scan and order. "This one’s on me!"
Her mouth watered at the dazzling array of desserts—after all, she hadn’t eaten any in decades. After dying, she could only sniff the aroma and secretly watch students sneak snacks into class.
"This one’s so cute… What’s this? Banlangen-flavored ice cream? And durian? I wanna try them all..." She picked and chose until Ye Chuan realized she’d ordered over a dozen items.
"Don’t overdo it, you’re not a kid anymore," Ye Chuan reminded her.
"I’m only eighteen."
"Wasn’t talking about age."
"Oh?"
Lan Xiaoke had ordered so much that a server came over to confirm if it was a mistake. After getting a firm yes, they shrugged—the bill was already paid.
Soon, plate after plate of desserts arrived.
Lan Xiaoke scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, watching the cold mist rise from it, her eyes gleaming.
One bite in, the white-haired girl immediately closed her eyes in bliss. "Heavenly~"
Bai Qianshuang quietly enjoyed her own ice cream, though she wasn’t as expressive as Lan Xiaoke.
Ye Chuan glanced at the table full of sweets and snapped a photo to send to Luo Xi.
Ye Chuan: Look look, want some?
Luo Xi replied almost instantly.
Luo Xi: Looks delicious! Next time, you’re treating me.
Ye Chuan: Maybe if your ‘elastic dance’ performance is good enough.
Luo Xi: Hmph~
Ye Chuan wasn’t big on desserts himself, sipping apple soda while waiting for Bai Qianshuang and Lan Xiaoke to polish off the mountain of sweets.
"So good!" Lan Xiaoke finished the last scoop of ice cream with satisfaction.
"Acting like a kid." Ye Chuan wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, and she grinned goofily. "Well, back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy treats."
"The ‘milk tea’ we drank was just flavored powder mixed with water, and the ‘coconut jelly’ was dyed rainbow colors. Only cost one yuan, too."
"Sounds ancient."
Just then, the TV screen in the shop caught Ye Chuan’s attention.
A battle was being broadcast—a group of superhumans hunting down a monster. With coordinated teamwork, a dinosaur-like creature with a bladed tail collapsed.
"Superhuman Hunting Squad, welcoming all newcomers!" A scarred woman flashed a thumbs-up at the camera.
"Hunting squads?"
"With all the monsters around now, people with special abilities are forming teams to hunt them," Lan Xiaoke explained, ever the internet-savvy one.
"How’s that different from the Alliance’s squads?"
"Hmm..." Lan Xiaoke rubbed her chin. "Dunno~"
"Official hunting teams versus civilian militias," Bai Qianshuang cut in, seeming to understand. "The civilian ones are freer and pay better."
"Makes sense." These squads weren’t under the Alliance’s jurisdiction, so any materials harvested from monsters didn’t need to be shared with them.
The downside was that most monster resources were already controlled by the official Alliance and major families. Groups like these were left scrambling for scraps.
"Still, monopolies aren’t healthy. A bit of competition keeps the Alliance on its toes." Ye Chuan propped his chin on his hand, smirking.
"Hey, Ye Chuan, with more and more people awakening powers, do you think there’ll be official awakening ceremonies someday? Mass-producing superhumans to fight monsters?" Lan Xiaoke asked curiously.
"Not impossible." Ye Chuan considered it.
If a method existed, the Alliance could help suitable candidates awaken—with the condition that they’d work for the Alliance for a while.
Of course, "working for the Alliance" was practically the same as working for Ye Chuan.
After all, he’d always been the real power behind the Jianghai branch.
"Anyway, enough about that." Ye Chuan mulled over his next plans for the real world before turning to Lan Xiaoke and Bai Qianshuang.
"Let’s go shopping for clothes."
"Me!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
